Exhibition by iconic Latvian painter, stage designer and graphic artist Ilmārs Blumbergs "3 Cycles"2nd February, 2022Culture

The exhibition, created in collaboration with the Blumbergs Foundation, will offer visitors some of the works by Ilmārs Blumbergs, created in his own special techniques, which are rarely shown and have been selected to form a natural synergy with the environment of the Great Amber. The exhibition will feature 65 works from three different cycles by the prolific artist.

The cycle of large format paintings I Won’t Die was inspired by Blumbergs’ collaboration with director Augusts Sukuts and the artist’s visits to Spain. The cycle was created 10 years ago and was first presented to the public in 2013 at the exhibition hall Arsenāls of the Latvian National Museum of Art. The exhibition in Liepāja will only be the second time when this cycle is shown to a wide audience. The works of the exhibition were also included in the book I Won’t Die, published in 2013, which is the most in-depth publication on Ilmārs Blumbergs’ recent art.

A cycle of a dramatically different character and form is Blumbergs’ series The Rain is falling, the Rain is falling! The Rain is falling! Buy some pictures. Buy some pictures. Buy some pictures! It was created in preparation for an exhibition where Blumbergs paid tribute to the life and work of legendary Latvian artist Voldemārs Irbe (1893–1944). “Irbe’s art is pure art,” Blumbergs has said, “it is not a weapon, not a public medium nor an expression of power.”

The third group of the exhibition are original mixed media works combining silk screening, acrylic, pencil, charcoal, photography, and other techniques. It includes the Atlantīda series created over 25 years ago and first exhibited in 1996, as well as the cycle Van Gogh’s Chairs. Blumbergs’ original technique works have become a widely recognized page in his creative history and have been included in several public and private collections.

Ilmārs Blumbergs (1943–2016) has left a large legacy in various fields and techniques of art – from paintings, sculptures and drawings to stage and costume design, posters as well as video art, gaining recognition and inspiring awe both among the public and professionals. Since 1962, he had organized over 40 solo exhibitions in Latvia and abroad and shown his works in over 150 group exhibitions. He has designed stages for numerous productions in Latvian theaters and the National Opera. Blumbergs has illustrated many culturally and historically significant books and created many graphic symbols widely recognized in Latvian culture. Recipient of an Class IV Order of the Three Stars and the Performer’s Night Lifetime Achievement Award in Theater. The artist’s works are featured in private collections in Latvia, Russia, Germany, Finland, Lithuania, France, Australia, Estonia, and the USA. Graduate of the Rīga Seconadry School of Applied Art Department of Decorating and the Latvian Academy of Art Department of Painting, and stage design student of Gunārs Zemgals.

INFORMATION FOR ATTENDEES:
We will ask all attendees to present a Covid-19 certificate at the entrance, confirming vaccination or recovery from Covid-19. We will also ask you to present personal identification. Attendees of the exhibition must wear face masks.

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